I have been house/dog sitting for this particular client for the past year. This includes holidays and long weekends...they are a wonderful family and I have loved dog sitting for them. I have three weekends scheduled for them which I intend to follow through with however, after that I will no longer be a dog sitter listed on Rover. I need to dedicate my time elsewhere so I will not be dog/house sitting at all anymore after August. How should I go about telling this family? I feel bad because we have gotten comfortable with each other and they will have to find someone else because they travel a lot. Should I write them a letter? Tell them in person?

That is a great idea, thank you Mary! I will be trying that this weekend with him, I am sure he will be thankful for it.

Okay so I have a repeat client, they are a wonderful family and I have watched both of their dogs more than any other clients of mine. One of their dogs is about 14 and he has severe hip dysplasia. His condition was not as bad when I first sat but it is getting worse....the client does talk to me about it as well, they are very aware of his condition. The dog takes a pain medication morning and evening and has ramps to help him up the patio stairs and bed. He has trouble getting up if he is laying down and sometimes will drag his feet until I go to help him. Has anybody else dealt with a dog with hip dysplasia? Is there anything I can do to help him more and am I making it worse if I grab his hind to help him up?

I don't hesitate at all to take care of pit bulls, but they do have a reputation and I understand why. I have pit bull type dogs of my own and if I were to ask for someone to sit for me, I would make sure I was very upfront about them and their tendencies because that is just me being a responsible dog owner and I know how people look at them. You want to make sure the owner is being completely honest. One of my dogs is dog aggressive and the other has never growled at any other animal or person at all in her lifetime. Every dog is different, and not just pit bulls, this goes for any dog...they are all unpredictable. It would help to ask the owner if their dog has had any altercations with other animals and people. Are they used to children petting them? Are they aggressive towards strangers? Have they ever growled at the owner? These are important questions to help make your decision. But those are questions you would ask any dog owner, at least I would, regardless of what kind of dog it is. If you are looking for signs of aggression during the meet and greet, look for any stiffness of the tail and gaze. If the tail is stiff and the eyes are locked, back off. Just trust your gut...you would be surprised how many sweet pit bulls there are in this world, good luck!

I have a potential client that I will be meeting tomorrow. They messaged to confirm the time of meet and I did but they still have not added their address to Rover so I can see the total amount they will be paying and to book properly. I am unsure if they even know how much they will have to pay since that info does not show because of the missing address and I'm worried after they finally do it that they will cancel or try to pay cash. I've already told them to update their address and they said okay but it still is not done. Do they just need to go to their profile and click "update" and then add their address? I am trying to find a way to explain it to them.